Jiu Fen 九份. Windsor B&B 温莎堡民宿. Gold Ecological Park 黄金博物园

From the 5th to 7th day of our Taiwan trip, we were soaking ourselves in the oh-so-heaven Jiu Fen (九份). :) Our plan was to spend 2 days 1 night in Jiu Fen and then go to Sun Moon Lake (日月潭) to spend a night there. When we reached Windsor B&B, the owner advised us that it would be too tiring and rushing to travel from Jiu Fen to Sun Moon Lake in such a short time. After seeing how amazing Jiu Fen is, we took the advice and stayed 3 days 2 nights in Jiu Fen. Well, now I must say, no regrets. :)

One day before travelling to Jiu Fen, we bought our train ticket to Ruifang (瑞芳) station. Again, I am sorry that I’ve forgotten about the price! :( The journey took about 1 and a half hours to reach Ruifang. Our B&B owner was so kind to come personally to the train station to pick us up. By public transport, after you reach Ruifang train station, you’ll have to go across the road and wait for the Keelung Transit bus to go to Jiu Fen.

Please bring only light luggage when you travel to Jiu Fen. Jiu Fen is on a hill side and you may need to walk to get to the B&B you stay. With the slopes and stairs everywhere, you will be so grateful that you pack lightly. Bring sufficient of clothing will do.

We chose to stay in Windsor B&B (温莎堡景观民宿) because it has those special rooms that attracted all of us. Plus, most of the rooms are facing the sea and the view is spectacular. As for the price, you may refer to the website.

The B&B owners are actually husband and wife, both of them are very nice to their guests. We felt so much like home when we were there. Chen Jie (陈姐) even prepared breakfast and brunch personally. Mr. Hsu (许大哥) cooked us bak kut teh (肉骨茶)! Can you believe it? Having bak kut teh in Taiwan in such a weather, perfect!

After settling down, we went to the Jiu Fen Old Street (九份老街). Chen Jie told us there is a super delicious beef noodles on the street and that is something we shouldn’t miss! We found it! Gosh, the best beef noodles I’ve ever had!!! Seriously, it’s the best! Ask any of us and we will all tell you the same thing. :) It is located along the street, the name is Jiu Fen Old Noodles House (九份老面店). It is very easy to find. There is also this special ice-cream wrap in front of the shop. It is also a must-try!

After a satisfying meal, we decided to go to the Gold Ecological Park (黄金博物园). We went to the main road of Jiu Fen and got on the Keelung Transit bus. If you’re worried you wouldn’t know where to stop, just tell the bus driver to drop you at the park. Entrance fee to the park is NTD100 per personUpdate 29 October 2012: Received comment from a traveller that the admission is free but the Benshan Tunnel will cost NTD50 per person. Visit the website if you want to know more about the park, I am not going to flood this post with all the history here. :)

The sky got dark faster than we expected. We didn’t manage to go to the Yehliu Geopark (野柳地质公园) and Miao Kou Night Market (庙口夜市). We headed back to the B&B to enjoy the afternoon tea prepared by Chen Jie. :) The best milk tea and coffee I’ve ever had! They’re so aromatic.

After the break, we went back to the street to roam around. One could never get enough of it. There are so many shops there!

On the 2nd day, we spent the whole day in Jiu Fen Old Street! Geez, all of us shopping “kakis”, by the time we wanted to go to Yehliu Geopark, it was already too dark to go! LOL!

You must be thinking that we are crazy to spend one whole day on the street in Jiu Fen. Well, wait till you reach there. There are so many things to eat, so many to see and so many to buy!

Please also be mindful that there a lot of slopes and staircase in Jiu Fen, sometimes the paths are intertwined with each other and one path could lead to another whole new place. It is not a very good idea to wander around those paths during nightfall and it is always wise to travel in group of 2 or 3 at night. Besides, the houses on Jiu Fen are all built very close to each other. So, do not make loud noises when you walk along the paths, you may disturb the residents at home.

On the 3rd day, time for us to say goodbye to Jiu Fen. Chen Jie was on her way down to Taipei city, she offered to drive us back to the city! How sweet of her! In the car, she was telling us all sorts of stories in Jiu Fen. What an unique experience. :)

On the train to Ruifang. Clean and tidy.

The street performance in Ruifang train station.

7 of us cramped up the MPV! LOL.

Finally! The beautiful and mystical Jiu Fen (九份).

Heaven on earth?

In Windsor B&B 温莎堡民宿.

Amazing and stunning view.

Jiu Fen Old Street 九份老街

Jiu Fen Old Noodles House 九份老面店

Ice-cream wrap

Here’s the beef noodles! The best we had in Taiwan. :) Beef was tender and juicy, the soup was thick but not sticky. Thumbs up.

One of us ordered the rice, not as nice as the noodles. :)

Food is everywhere on old street.

Very old-fashioned feel 古早味

Yam balls. One of the must-try when you come to Jiu Fen.

Seafood steamboat.

Pork steamboat.

Beef steamboat.

The full and filling sandwich from Chen Jie. :)

I’ve taken a lot of photos in Jiu Fen. For more photos of Jiu Fen, please click here.

Like this:

I chanced upon your blog when I was looking for reviews on Windsor B&B as I am thinking of staying there for my trip in Mar11.

From your writeup, I can see you and your friends really had a very enjoyable time in Jiufen and at Windsor. I looked through all your Jiufen pics and am thinking of staying 3 days too! I have questions, hope you can help:

1) Does the owner of Windsor provide any pickup service from airport or we need to take taxi there to look for them?
2) I know some Minsu provide free transport when you stay with them i.e. the owner will drive you around. Is this an option with Windsor?
3) Can I find out when did you go as its not very clear from your blog.

1) They do provide free pick up service but it’s only at a certain hour, I think it’s at 2pm. That also depends if they’re available. My sisters just went in November and they said they took a bus from Ruifang station to Jiufen, no pick-up from the owner.
2) Windsor doesn’t provide touring service around Jiufen, you’ll have to travel by bus/taxi on your own. However, you could get a chartered taxi/car. You may ask the Windsor B&B owner for help on that.
3) I went to Taipei last January, today is the one-year anniversary of my trip! Miss Taipei so much.

If you still have any questions, please ask away. I’m more than happy to help if I could. :)

Dear Ashley, thanks alot for your prompt reply! Can I find out if I can correspond with the owners via email (English) or you recommend that I call them instead?

Did your sister had an enjoyable trip and stay too? I read your blog that we shouldn’t bring big luggages, does that mean the taxi doesn’t go to their doorstep?

I am going with my husband, mum, 2 kids (5 & 2 yrs old). Currently thinking of going there in Mar, staying for 3days at Windsor, then stay in Taipei for another 5days before heading home to SG. Any recommendation on places to go will be greatly appreciated :)

Before my trip, I corresponded with the B&B owner, but in Chinese. Yes, you may call them directly. That will save you a lot of time and hassle. They’re very nice people, don’t worry. :)

Yes, both my sisters enjoyed their stay in Windsor and Jiufen too. They went to Yehliu Ecological park, which I strongly recommend to you too. My sisters went to Pingxi too, in the hope of doing some lantern praying, but one of them was sick and they had to head back to Jiufen.

Jiufen has a lot of stairs and slopes. The reason I mentioned not to bring heavy luggage as you may find it difficult to drag those luggages around. A backpack is good. Yes, taxis and buses may not be able to have access to certain roads as the roads are sometimes pretty narrow.

Are you a museum person? If you’re not, I suggest you could drop all those memorial halls/museums. Those are actually pretty boring. :) My sisters went to Hualian and spent 3 days there and they said it was so fun! If you had the time, you may want to consider that. Taipei city is more for shopping. Taipei 101 is a must-visit place. :) You may want to go to Taipei 101 around 4 or 5pm. You will then get to enjoy the day-view and night-view together. Danshui is also a place you must go, especially the Danshui Fishermen Wharf. Oh, don’t forget about Yang Ming Shan. The “Xiao You Keng” in Yang Ming Shan has a very nice view.

Hope you’d have a great time there. :) Do share with me when you come back.

The sky lantern in Pingxi, nope, it doesn’t have to be during the lantern festival then only you can do it. You can do it just about any time. :)

If you’re going to Hualian, you may want to extend your stay in Taipei. Perhaps 3 days in Hualian, 3 days in Taipei, 3 days in Jiufen. If you’re going to Hualian, I recommend you to go on the 2nd day after you arrive Taipei. Then Jiufen, then the remaining days in Taipei city.

There’s so many things to do in Hualian other than Taroko. There’s this Ho-Huan Mountain (合欢山), ChiSingTan (七星潭), Carp Lake (鲤鱼潭) and Ching Jing Farm (清境农场). My sisters stayed in this place while they were in Hualian. http://sweetrain.hlbnb.com.tw/ They basically sing praises of the tour guide. Haha. I’m sure you’ll love the sceneries there. :)

If you’d like to go to Hualian, please note that you have to purchase the train ticket (from Taipei to Hualian) online 1 month in advance to avoid any disappointment.

Once again, thanks for your good advice!
Do you think its advisable to go directly to Windsor from Taipei airport? Thereafter, I thought of staying 1 2nights at Windsor, 1 night at ShangriLa farm at Yilan. Then go to Taipei? I think I will go HuaLien next time. :)

If you’d like to go to Jiufen from the airport, it can be done provided that you arrive Taipei early in the morning. From Taipei Main Station (train) to Ruifang will take 1 and a half hours. If you arrive Taipei in the late afternoon, not advisable to go Jiufen in the evening. It may be a bit rushing for you to only stay 1 night in Jiufen, unless you want to drop the Gold ecological park and head straight to Yehliu or vice versa. Unless you start your day early, then you can cover this 2 places in one day.

Maybe you can consider this, 1st day after you reach Taipei airport, head straight to Taipei Main Station and get a train ticket to Ruifang. If it’s only 2 or 3pm when you reach Jiufen, go either Yehliu or Gold ecological park. If not, just explore the Jiufen streets and the 2nd day you’ll have one full day to explore other areas. 2nd day, after you’re done with Jiufen, perhaps travel to Yilan in the late afternoon, spend a night there and then explore Yilan on the next day. On the 3rd day, you’ll be back in Taipei in late evening. :)

Seeing that you’re bringing your mom and 2 children, you may want to take it slow as the traveling could be pretty tiring. Since you’re not going to Hualian this time, I guess you do not have to rush the itinerary.

There’s a lot of bus services travel from the airport to Taipei City. You just go to the buses counters (you may ask for directions from the airport tourism counter), ask if any of them have bus to Taipei Main Station. Oh by the way, will you be arriving Taoyuan airport? Even if you’re not, the staff at tourism counter will be able to help you.

Hi, thanks for dropping by. :) I’m not very familiar with Taiwan though. Just sharing whatever that I know.

7 nights and you’d like to include Hualian, I’d say it might be a bit too rush. Unless you only stay 2 days 1 night in Hualian or perhaps 3 days 2 nights in Hualian and 2 days 1 night in Jiufen. However, if you’d like to explore Jiufen more, I’d say 3 days in Jiufen is a better choice.

Hualian is fantastic place to visit too, my sisters went there and they totally enjoyed their stay in Hualian. You may refer to my earlier comments here.

Nanya? Do you know its name in Chinese?
Ying Yang Hai is in Keelung, nearby Jiufen. You would be able to visit it just by getting on a bus or taxi.

I’d suggest you to stay at least 1 night in Jiufen. From Taipei city to Ruifang via train would take about 1.5 hours, to and fro would be taking up 3 hours of your time. If you make a day trip, again it would be too rush for you.

Your plan of visiting the gold ecological park on the first day is good, after the gold ecological park, you can then go to Ying Yang Hai or Keelung night market. The next day then you can explore Jiufen streets.

The last time when I was there, the B&B owner told me there is a chartered taxi services there. I’m not sure where. Perhaps when you go there you can ask the local people about it.

Hope you have a great time in Taipei. Oh by the way, when are you going to Taipei?

I stayed in 涵館3, three of us shared the room. There’s only one cafe, which is the place where the owner serves all the meals. The one I stayed is few doors away from the cafe I think. Yes, different theme at different area, but not very far apart.

You can take Keelung bus from Jiufen to Yehliu. However, I’m not sure if the below is correct ’cause that was the information I got when I searched for it last time, but I didn’t manage to go Yehliu when I was there. If you can read chinese, here it is:-
1022 基隆 – 金山
1062 基隆 – 淡水

You may want to confirm the number with the locals when you are there. You can ask the B&B owner, they’re more than willing to help. :)

Taipei city, you can consider this Taipei Hope Hotel. My sisters stayed there when they went there last November and they highly recommended it as it is very near to Taipei Main Station and the hotel is clean. Here’s the website: http://100hopehotel.emmm.tw/?ptype=info

The Windsor B&B is in Jiufen, not in the Taipei city centre. As in Jiufen, I’d say Windsor B&B is the best amongst all as it offers reasonable price with good view. I liaised with them via emails. Here’s their email address: service@windsor.idv.tw
And this is their website: http://windsor.idv.tw/index.asp

There’s another B&B in Jiufen which I find not bad but the price is slightly more expensive than Windsor. Here it is: http://www.cwcm.com.tw/

You’re most welcome. I think I stayed in Han Guan 3. As for the price, you may check the website as I’m not sure if they increase the price. Do email Windsor for the best price as they sometimes offer discount.

Yes, 8fan Keng is in Jiufen. They have 2 branches in Jiufen, u can select either the one at #41 or the one at Jiu Dao Kou.
Their email is at the bottom of the website. :) pafan.keng@msa.hinet.net
Usually Taiwan websites have their contact at the very bottom. :)

You’re saying ur last 3 days will be in Taipei city, why not staying in the city then? You can move your schedule/itinerary for Jiu Fen to the middle of ur trip so that you won’t be rushing here and there on the last day. Note that Taipei City centre to Jiufen takes about 1 and half hours of train ride. If you’re departing from Taoyuan airport, it would take another 1 hour of bus ride from Taipei City centre to Taoyuan.

Yi Lan and Jiu Fen are both very pretty. It all depends on what kind of experience you would like to have.

I’m not expert in planning Taiwan trip, I just do my best to answer your questions from what I know of. :) I understand the frustration of having no one to ask when you plan a trip. So, I just want to help make the planning less painful. :)

I’m sorry that I’m not sure about the cab/taxi drive from Taoyuan Airport to Jiufen. Worry not, here’s some info in the Taoyuan Airport website – Taiwan Taoyuan Internation Airport.You may call them before you reach to check on the taxi fare from Taoyuan to Jiufen.

Hmm… Just my personal opinion, it is pretty rushing for you to go to Jiufen on your first day. I would suggest to stay in Taipei city on the first day and travel to Jiufen on the 2nd day.

Also, it is not advisable to carry all your luggages up to Jiufen. It is on a hillside and you’ll be dragging your huge luggage with you, which I don’t think it’s a good idea. If you’re taking train, you can leave your luggages in Ruifang train station, they have locker services, but again, sorry that I’m not sure how much they charge. Alternatively, you may go to the hotel that you’re going to stay in Taipei city, leave your luggages with them. Most of the hotels are willing to accommodate to this request, but since you’re not staying there on your first day, you may want to confirm with them if it’s ok.

If you have not booked your B&B in Jiufen, I strongly encourage you to go Jiufen on the second day. Then you can leave your luggage in Taipei city hotel and pack lightly for Jiufen, and enjoy your stay there. Also, it won’t be so tiring. If you’re flying from KUL to TPE, the 5 hours journey is no joke.

Am writing to you to get your advice a bit as I’m travelling to Taiwan next week! Just came across your website and how you have been really helpful to all those who have asked for your recommendations…

You see, I’ll be spending 8 nights in Taiwan and the initial route that my friend and I are planning for is Taipei city on 1st night, followed by two nights in Hualian and then two nights in Jiufen and the remaining days back to Taipei.

However, I heard that accommodation in Jiufen is quite pricey on the weekends, and going by our itinerary, it looks like we are spending Sat and Sun nights in Jiufen. However, I’m not sure if there is train or bus that will go the route from Jiufen to Hualian if we decide to switch our itinerary the other way round which means Taipei-Jiufen-Hualian-Taipei.

Appreciate if you could kindly advice me on this since we are running short of time and need to make our reservations soon.

Have you not booked your stay in Jiufen? If I’m not mistaken, the Windsor B&B I went to does not have extra charge for weekends. I could be wrong, you’ll just need to check with them to get the real rate.

Anyway, it is alright too if you would like to switch your itinerary to Taipei-Jiufen-Hualian-Taipei. It’s pretty much the same.

Regarding the transportation from Jiufen to Hualian, I believe you there’s a train that runs from Ruifang station to Hualian. If you could read Chinese, here’s the train website: Taiwan Railway

Don’t have to worry so much. When you get there, just ask the airport information counter or the train station information counter, they’ll be more than happy to help. :)

Hi Ashley,
i am planning to go taiwan for 7D 6N , planning to spend 4D3N at taipei, i am not sure which other district i can go for the 3D 2N, was planning tai nan and gao xiong do you think it is a wise choice? or is there other district that is more fun.. we would be more into shopping.

Perhaps you can consider Hualian, it’s a nice place. Jiu Fen is good for shopping with beautiful view too. :) Sun Moon Lake is not a bad choice either, but that is more for scenery. If you are more into shopping, Jiufen is definitely the place.

Tainan and Gao Xiong is a bit difficult. The journey will very much take up 1 whole day (to and fro), and you’ll be very tired rushing back to Taipei.

Jiufen is definitely a place you must visit when you go Taipei. Superb scenery.

From Taipei, you have to go to the Taipei Main Station and purchase train ticket to Ruifang Station. After you reach Ruifang station, go to the opposite of the road and take the Keelung bus to Jiufen. Just tell the bus driver to drop you off at Jiufen Old Street (Lao Jie). If you want the B&B to go to the Ruifang station to pick you up, that depends on which B&B you stay and you may make a personal request to them. Or, you could hire a cab all the way from Taipei to Jiufen, sorry that I’m not sure how much exactly it’s going to cost, perhaps NTD1000-NTD1500.

Do pack lightly when you go to Jiufen, backpay is recommended rather than wheeled luggage bag.

I have just came back from my 1 week Taipei trip. I stayed in B&B for 2D1N too. From Taipei Sogo, I took a bus -No.1062 (NTD102.00) to Jiufen. The bus will stop at Jiufen old street.

B&B has pickup at Ruifang train station at 2pm and 6pm everyday.

For the first day, after checking in, we took a bus(NTD15.00) to the gold museum(Jing Gua Shi) and walk around that area(we walk to a Chinese temple with a big statute from the back lane of the gold museum).

Tips 1: Not easy to get a taxi at that area. If you want to go “Golden Falls” & “Ying Yang Hai”, it is impossible to walk.
Tips 2: Don’t carry huge/bulky luggage-you need to walk down many steps.
Tips 3: Buy the honey mua chi cake-personally taste nice & never forget the yam ball tong sui from the 2 most famous stall
Tips 4: Try the Tau Fu Fah inside the Gold Museum.
Tips 5: As what Ashley said, spent more time at Jiufen old street
Tips 6: From Taipei Airport, can take Evergreen bus to Sogo (NTD150.00) only, if you stay around Sogo.

2nd day, after taking BF at B&B, Mr Hsu drive us to Golden falls, Ying Yang Hai & taste some local food (Which you can never find it at Taipei city or Jiufen old street)- FOC (lol).

Like the others, I stumbled upon your blog while doing my research on Jiufen. I took a peek at Windsor B&B and fell instantly in love with it. I will be going to Taiwan in early Nov, and was contemplating if I should stay in a B&B in Jiufen or Yilan. Which would you recommend? I prefer scenery but wouldn’t mind some shopping either!

Could you kindly provide some advice on the following:

1) Is Jiufen Old Street situated near Windsor B&B? Is it within walking distance?

2) I’m planning to stay 2 nights in Jiufen. Are there nearby places that I could visit? According to some of your earlier posts/replies, you mentioned Yehliu? What about Yin Yang Hai and BItou Cape? Are they near Jiufen and what is the best way to get there?

3) My mum, who’s in her sixties will be travelling with me. Will the undulating terrain in Jiufen be too much for her to bear? Are there stairs and slopes literally everywhere?

Hi Sharon, thanks for dropping by. :)
I’ve not been to Yilan, so I can’t really give you a good advise whether Jiufen is better. My sisters were planning to go Yilan, but they changed their mind and chose Jiufen after gave it some thoughts ’cause they were going to Hua Lian too. You may check out this website for Yilan, if you can read Chinese, 宜兰旅游网.

1) Windsor B&B has 3 different locations, 2 of them are nearby the Old Street. Yes, within walking distance, maybe just 5 minutes walk and few flights of stairs. You may notify the B&B owner to give you the one nearest to the Old Street.

2) Yes, I strongly encourage you to go to Yehliu to see the “Nv Wang Tou” (The Queen’s Head), it’s in the Yehliu Ecological Park. It won’t be there for long because of the weathering. You can actually get a rented car/taxi to travel to those places. Do check with the B&B owner for some recommendations, they’re more than happy to help.

3) If your mom is physically fit and has no problem with walking (I presume she is very healthy since she’s travelling with you :)), Jiufen is not at all that bad for her. However, since Jiufen is located on a hillside, do expect a lot of stairs and slopes. Just let your mom rest whenever she’s tired, and go slow, the scenery is beautiful and you’ll want to slow down to enjoy it. :)

Hope the above helps. :) Have a great trip to Taiwan and do share your experience here when you come back. :D

I’m still a little torn between visiting Jiufen and Yilan but the probability of me going to Jiufen is definitely higher – I kindda like being near food (oh glorious food) and I wanna visit the lavender shop at Jiufen – I read that there’s a branch in Jiufen (the owners have a lavender farm somewhere in Taiwan with a retail outlet and cafe but since I wouldn’t be visiting the farm, the next best thing is to visit the branch in Jiufen) so I will be going to grab whatever lavender-products I can! You can tell I’m a huge fan of anything lavender! Haha!

Will definitely share my experience here when I return from Taiwan! ^-^

2 more quick questions:

– Do I need to purchase the train tickets from Taipei to Ruifang in advance?

Yes, I must agree with you, you will definitely get the best food experience in Jiufen. :) Yilan has great sceneries, from the photos I’ve seen on the internet. So yeah, I can understand your situation now, being torn between 2 great places. :)

I didn’t notice the lavender shop in Jiufen! Gosh! Must visit it the next time I go, IF I go Taipei again. Hahaha.

To your questions:
1. If you can, it is always good to purchase the tickets to Ruifang at least 1 day in advance. If you so happen to be in the Taipei Main Station, just go there and buy a ticket, no harm.

2. Taipei Main Station, the name says it all, it is a transportation hub. Take the MRT to the Main Station and the train station is just right in there. Everything under one roof. :)

i really enjoyed your thread here about Jiufen. I am in the process of planning a Taiwan and want to book Windsor B&B. There are 6 of us. I don’t speak Mandarin, a handicap.

Our first stop in Taiwan is Hualein-Taroko. We thought we’d have to head back to Taipei for the night before setting out for Jiufen the next day with a chartered car…but after reading your blog, it may not be necessary, — train from Hualien/Taroko directly to Ruifang, bus to Jiufen. How long would it take from Ruifang to Windsor B&B?

We are concerned about how early things open and how late shops close in Jiufen. Anything to do after 8pm? How to plan arrival time, dinner, etc.

Anything else to do in Jiufen besides the Old Street? Need a car at all in town?

How did you get from Jiufen to Yeliou? Thinking of hiring a chartered car.

I have your recommended noodle shop and ice cream stall marked on my to do. Anything else I need to target?

Hi Eva, thanks for dropping by and glad that you enjoyed my post here. :)

From Ruifang train station to Windsor B&B, if you take the Keelung bus, it would take about 45min. You can call the B&B owner to arrange a pick-up, their pick-up time is 2pm if I’m not mistaken.

The shops in Jiufen Old Street close pretty early, around 7pm or 8pm. We usually shopped until 7pm and had our dinner, then we would still wander around the streets. We didn’t really plan for our dinner time and lunches, it was pretty much impromptu. ‘Cause there are food everywhere in Jiufen, if you’re hungry, you could just stop any time and have a bite. :) As for the arrival time, we were a bit kia-su (if you understand :) ), we took the train to Ruifang in the early morning and reached Jiufen around 10am or 11am. :D

Jiufen Old Street is very near the B&B, you don’t need a car to reach there, it’s within walking distance. You will only need a car or take a bus if you’re going to Yehliu and the Gold Ecological Park. I didn’t manage to go to Yehliu, but yes, you can take a Keelung bus to Yehliu, or, get a chartered car or taxi. I would suggest you to get some info on the chartered car from the B&B owner, they’re very friendly and would be able to help you out.

You must try the beef noodle and the ice cream, they are a MUST. :D Don’t forget the yam balls soup in Jiufen! There’s a few shops selling them and all of them are nice. Try both the hot and cold soup. :)

It is shaking out that the 6 of us go from Taroko to Taipei, then next morning go towards the coast with a chartered vehicle, do maybe Juming Museum, Yeliou, then get to Jiufen by 5pm. Or skip museum, get to Jiufen by 1 or 2pm.

Does Windsor have street access so we can unload luggage at curb? Or do we have to drag it through the old street? Dreading that since I can’t guarantee everyone in my group will comply with small luggage suggestion, and we have one spry but elderly person in tow.

I will totally hit the noodle, ice cream, yam balls, you are making me hungry. Did you hear of a good restaurant for proper meal too..in case others in my group rebel against street food (can’t imagine why). Thank you much!

We plan to do YiLan the next day, then head to Mingchih, then Ma-Kou Ecological Park, then back to Taipei for the National Palace Museum for the last day.

Of course Windsor have street access. Old Street is where all the actions are. But Windsor is located very near to the Old Street and if you go by the Keelung bus, yes, you may need to go through the Old Street to reach Windsor. The luggage problem, well, the young ones may just help the elderly one with the luggage when it comes to steeps or stairs. :)

There are a lot of food on the Old Street, some of them have proper meal. I remember we dined in this fish ball noodles restaurant, where they serve rice and other dishes as well. :) Also, there is this restaurant where we had our steamboat. I’m sorry I can’t remember its name now. Hahaha. Don’t worry too much about the food, you can find a lot of decent food on Old Street. But there is this restaurant that I do not like after the bad experience with them, I think I did mention in my post/photo up here.

Like others, I chanced upon your blog while doing my research on taipei & jiufen! =) Love the pics that you’ve taken. Made me wanna go to taiwan now!! Can I ask you some question? I see that you covered quite a lot place places from your 8 days trip. I was hoping you can help. I’ll only be there for 6D5N. Reaching Tao Yuan airport at noon and leaving at about 6pm and would like to go to the following places:
1) Ximending
2) Shilin Night Market
3) Taipei 101
4) Yamg Ming Shan
5) Xin Bei Tou for hot spring
6) Dan Shui
7) Fishermen Wharf
8) Wu Fen Pu
9) Jiu Fen
10) Yeh Lieu
11) Hua Lien (hopefully..)

Do you think it’s possible for us to cover all these places in 6 days (5days to be exactly)? If so, will you be able to guide me on how I shld plan my itinerary?

I intend to stay a night in Jiu Fen, Windsor B&B is one of my choices & after seeing your blog, I think I will proceed with my bookings. =) Now I’m just thinking of when I shld go Jiu Fen. DO you think it’s good to go on the 2nd day?

Whether 5 days in Taipei is enough depend on your itinerary and what do you like to do. If you’re into sigh-seeing then no point spending too much time on shopping and vice versa. Those place you listed above are common places of interest that tourists will go. Actually it should be 6 days and not 5 days right? I don’t think you’re taking the over-night flight?

Since the first day you’re arriving at noon, by the time you reach the hotel in Taipei city and check in, it would be around 3pm or 4pm. What I did was I went to Taipei 101 in the evening and exploring the Ximending at night (since I was staying in Ximending). On the 2nd day, you can choose to go Yang Ming Shan, then Xin Bei Tou hot spring, then Dan Shui and Fishermen Wharf. Make sure you go Yang Ming Shan early so that your itinerary in the afternoon will not be delayed. If you reach Dan Shui around 3pm or 4pm, please take the ferry and go to the Fishermen Wharf first and later you can come back to Dan Shui for the shopping.

3rd day, take a train to Jiufen. Buy the train ticket to Ruifang at least one day earlier. Since you’re only staying 1 night in Jiufen, so it’s better for you to start your journey early so that you reach Jiufen earlier. After you check in to the B&B, take the Keelung bus to Yehliu. You can go to the Jiufen Old Street at night after you come back from Yehliu. Jiufen Old Street is very near to the B&B, you don’t have to worry about the travelling.

4th day, you may want to take another walk in the Old Street before you head back to Taipei city, the Old Street in day and night look pretty much different. :) After coming back from Jiufen, you may go to Wu Fen Pu for some shopping and Shilin Night Market. Try not to go Wu Fen Pu on a Monday as it is a wholesalers day and they may not be able to give you good service. You may not want to go Wu Fen Pu in the early morning, so I would suggest you to go Taiwan Story Land or National Palace Museum in the morning and head to Wu Fen Pu at noon. Then in the evening you can head to Shilin.

On the 5th day, maybe you can go to Hua Lian, in the early morning. Stay for a night and come back the next morning. Please make sure you book your Hua Lian train tickets online at least few weeks before your trip. And you may refer to my comment above for some info on Hua Lian accommodation.

Yes, you can go Jiufen on your second day, not really too rushing since you’ll be arriving Taipei in the afternoon of your first day.

Do you think it’s wise for me to go to Hua Lian from Jiu Fen? Or are they from diff directions? which means I have to travel back to Taipei before I can go Hua Lian? Pardon me, I’m still quite confused over the map of Taiwan & places I shld visit. I read from your comments that we shld pack something light as Jiu Fen has a lot of stairs. But if I go to Hua Lian from there, it’s not possible to bring little things. & if we did travel to Hua Lian from Jiu Fen, where can we leave our luggages in Taipei.. Hmm…

Btw, do you happen to have any contacts for booking a taxi in Jiu Fen & Hua Lian?

You can go from Jiufen to Hua Lian, you don’t have to travel back to Taipei, but I’m afraid it is very rushing for you. You may reach Hua Lian in the afternoon and that leaves you not much time in Hua Lian.
If you’re going to Jiufen for 1 night stay and Hua Lian for another night, that would be 3 days of changing clothes, which I think you can still pack lightly, a backpack is more suitable. You can leave your luggage in Ruifang train station, they do provide such service. Alternatively, if you’re staying in Taipei hotel for the first day, you can leave your luggages in the Taipei hotel, they wouldn’t mind. We left our luggages in our Taipei hotel when we travelled to Jiufen for 3 days. All you need is ask the hotel if they could do that.

I do not have contacts for taxi in Jiufen, if you’re staying in the B&B, you can ask the owner to give you some suggestions, they do have some contacts.
As for Hua Lian, please refer to my previous comments here. There is this B&B which they do Hua Lian tours too, and that includes everything from meals to transport. :)

I plan to visit explore ard Pingsi/jingtong and shifen, staying a night there, before visitng jiufen old street on our way back to taipei the next day.

I chanced upon windsor bb and I love the place! haha…
Are you able to advise the travelling part from ruifang to windsor? what’s the distance like from ruifang to jiufen old street and windsor by public transport?

From Ruifang to Windsor, you gotta take a train from Taipei Main Station to Ruifang station, it’s about 1.5 hours journey. From Ruifang station, you have to cross the road to the opposite and take a Keelung bus to Jiufen. Tell the bus driver to drop you off at Jiufen Old Street. I did not take a bus, as the B&B owner came to pick us up, it was about hour an hour drive if I’m not mistaken.

hi ashley! im planning to go taiwan for 5 D 4 N on 31 october.. have planned out my plan so far.. but would like to seek advice from u. i plan to go jiu fen on the second day, but planning to go to sun moon lake on the third day. do u know the transport from jiu fen to sun moon lake.. would appreciate your soonest reply? thanks!

To go from Jiu Fen to Sun Moon Lake is pretty rush, we skipped Sun Moon Lake by heeding the advise of Windsor B&B owner. However, if you’d really like to go, I would say go ahead. :)
When I was drafting my itinerary, I was planning to go Sun Moon Lake by going back to Taipei and take a bus ride to SML, I’m not sure if you can travel from Jiu Fen all the way to SML.
Bus ride from Taipei to SML – check out this website

Yes, I did pay deposit when I booked the room with Windsor B&B. First time I paid via internet bank transfer, after that they have a paypal account and I paid to their paypal account when I booked the room for my sister. No worries, you can write them an email and they will reply you with the details. :) Email: service@windsor.idv.tw OR you can call them, 0960-576-258/0930-824-391.

About Windsor B&B, the rate published on their website is per room per night. The price stated in olive green color box is rate from Sunday to Friday. The price stated in pink color box is for Saturday and public holidays (in Taiwan). Do note that all the price are in TWD currency.
If at all you’re confused, all you have to do is choose the one that you would like to book, email the B&B owner and they will revert to you with the total price payable.

Yes, you can confirm the booking thru email. However, they required a small amount of deposit. You can pay the balance when you arrive later. The last time I paid via Paypal for my sister. You may email them and tell them your preferred method of payment.

Hi Ashley
I will be heading to Taipei in Feb.
I am thinking of going Taipei, Yilan, Hualien, Gao Xiong, Cing JIng, Taichung and back to Taipei. which state should i start with, and how many days stay for each of the places?

Usually people start with Taipei and then going South, that is because they usually fly to Taoyuen Airport. If you’re flying to other areas, you may want to work your way differently. If stops in Taipei, the sequence is Taipei-Yilan-Hualien-CingJing-Taichung-Taipei.

As for how many days to stay, that really depends on your preferences. If time allows, 3 days in each place. Don’t forget you have to take the travelling time into consideration as well.

You’re most welcome. :)
Oopsie… I missed out Kao Hsiung. Kao Hsiung is located at the southern part of Taiwan. Taipei-Yilan-Hualien-CingJing-Taichung-KaoHsiung-Taipei. OR, you can go all the way South and then slowly head back to Taipei:- Taipei-KaoSiung-Taichung-Hualien-CingJing-Yilan-Taipei. Do note that Hualien and Cing Jing is very near to each other.

I emailed the Windsor B&B owner and they reply promptly too!
Now just need to figure out how to pay them for the deposit of the accommodation

But somehow im still stucked with the 5th day which i will be heading to Hualien from Jiufen. Because my schedule is 2 days at Taipei,2 days at Jiufen,1 day at Nantou,1 day at Ching Jing Farm and final 1 day back to taipei/taoyuan.

But the problem is on day 5,i will be at Hualien/Sun Moon Lake area and i need to skip my visit to Taroko Gorge because of the time is not permitted as atleast 2 days needed to be at Taroko.

Do you have any idea or suggestion so i can plan the journey? Very much appreciated!

I can see that you have a very rush itinerary. You can take a train from Jiufen (Rui Fang station) to Hualien, but I am not sure of how long is the travelling time. Does your 2 days mean 2 days 1 night? Or 3 days 2 nights? Meaning you will be staying in that place for 2 nights and get to the next destination on the morning of 3rd day?

Are you sure you can go Sun Moon Lake and Ching Jing within 2 days? You may want to look around on the internet for the distance between this 2 places and the transportation. Sorry that I couldn’t be of much help for Sun Moon Lake. From what I found in the past, the travelling would take up some time.

If you’re going Hualien, it is nearer to Taroko Gorge, you may then consider Taroko Gorge instead of Sun Moon Lake. There’s a link to a B&B in Hualien in of my comments earlier here. The B&B owner could help you plan your trip in Hualien. I’m not trying to promote for them, it’s just that my sisters stayed there last year and they were very happy with the B&B owner and the Hualien/Taroko trip. Here you can take a look at some of my sisters’ photos –

Yes,which mean i will be spending 2 nights at Taipei,2 nights at Jiufen, 1 night at Ching Jing Farm,1 night at Hualien and the final day back to Taipei.

And im not sure if we are able to make it to Taroko Gorge from Ching Jing,and as i think,if we are unable to make it to Taroko Gorge,then i might be ended up with staying at Sun Moon Lake are for a night instead of Hualien. Which means Taipei > Jiufen > Ching Jing > Sun Moon Lake are > Taipei.

The journey from Taipei to Taroko takes up to 6 hours by train. That is time consuming.

You’re right, if you’re spending 1 night in Ching Jing, you won’t be able to make it to Taroko Gorge. ‘Cause usually the Taroko Gorge will take up one day as it also cover some other beautiful places along the way.

If you’re going to Sun Moon Lake, don’t think you’ll have the time for Hualien too.

Your itinerary of Taipei > Jiufen > Ching Jing > Sun Moon Lake > Taipei looks fine. If you go by this way, you’ll have sufficient time for your trip and you won’t be rushing all the time. Don’t worry your planned itinerary, it’s not carved in stone. :) When the time comes and you’re short of time, just choose the places of interest that you prefer the most.

Enjoy your stay in Taiwan. You’re going to love it there. Do try as much food as possible. :D

Hi Eileen, you’re most welcome. I’m glad that the info I’ve provided here is able to help someone. I’ve been through it, I know how painful it is at times to go through all the information on the internet. Just trying to make it less painful for others. :)

The one the I was staying in Windsor isn’t too far from the old street, perhaps 1 or 2 staircase away. I can’t remember exactly the name of the road it’s located. If you would like to be near to the old street, just make mention it to the owner when you book your room and they’ll tell you whether it’s available. I believe “Ri Guang Han Guan” is the one that’s near to the old street. If you could read Chinese, you can have a look at this MAP.

Ashley, just want to leave a note to tell you that I really enjoy reading your posting. Though I am not going to Jiufen but you make it sounds so interesting…I will go one of these days. Anyway, thanks and happy new year!

hi, like others chanced upon ya blog while doing research. I’ve decided to book e minsu! hope there still have a rm as i will b gg in 2 wks time. as i will b going for 6d5n trip. hope u can help me a lil.. i will b staying 1night at B&B. just wonder is it possible to covers yehliu, yin yang hai,keelung. pingxi line(jingtong,shifen n pingxi) and jiufen? thanks in advanced =p

Hello there, thanks for dropping by. I am so sorry for the late reply, am pretty caught up with work and the house recently.
Hope this reply is not too late.

Since you’ll be going to Jiufen, if you don’t spend too much time on Jiufen itself, you can easily cover Yehliu, Ying Yang Hai, Keelung in one day. Go to Jiufen and check in as early as possible, before 1pm perhaps. Have your lunch in Jiufen Old Street, then you can move on with your itinerary on other places. As for Pingxi, Jingtong and Shifen, I don’t think you can make it to all of them due to the distance. Perhaps you can still cover Pingxi and Jingtong on the 2nd day. It is not impossible, you can still make it to 3 places but it would be very rushing. I’d advise you to play by ears. Go ahead with your plan and if you can’t make it for the rest of the places, it’s ok. After all, it is a holiday. :)

If I remember correctly, I believe we took Tze Chiang train to Jiufen. The journey took about 1.5hours. Don’t worry so much my dear, when you’re at the train station, you can ask the ticketing officer over the counter. They won’t scold you. :)

Hi Ashley,
Thanks a million for all the wonderful, detailed information.
I enjoyed myself browsing through every bit of them. I am planning to go on my 2nd trip to Taiwan in late May. I have actually planned to stay a night at Jiufeng but you have ‘convinced’ me to stay for 2 nights instead.

Looking at your plan, I must say you plan it well. :D You can definitely make it to all those places during your 3 days visit in Jiu Fen. Make sure you reach there early on the first day so that you have a little bit more time. Just be mindful when you purchase your train tickets, do take note of the train schedule.

Oh yes, Gold Museum is the Gold Ecological Park. And make sure you always start your day early so that you don’t have to rush. :)

Hi Ivy, thanks for dropping by. :)
I know how it feels to plan an itinerary when you don’t have a clue where to start. Don’t worry, after getting familiar with the names of the places and their locations, everything will fall into places.

You are travelling to Kaohsiung too? I’m afraid it would be a bit too rush if you’re travelling to Kaohsiung. Do check out the travelling time that you may need to travel to Kaohsiung and the train schedule, for eg. what is the earliest train (to Kaohsiung), what is the time of the train to Taichung and what is the time of the last train back to Taipei. Other than travelling to the South, the rest of your itinerary looks fine.

Perhaps you can tell me where exactly in Taichung you will travel to and will you be staying a night there?

I presumed you’re going on this:
19/3 – Taipei
20/3 – Taipei
21/03 – Jiufen (Morning train to Jiufen)
22/03 – Jiufen (Will you be spending a second night in Jiufen or travel to Kaohsiung on the second day. You may want to check if there’s any train travels directly from Ruifang to Kaohsiung)
23/03 – Kaohsiung
24/03 – From Kaohsiung to Taichung
25/03 – From Taichung back to Taipei (I presume you will spend a night in Taichung)
26/03 – Taipei
27/03 – Taipei

nice to read about the blog specially in jiufen. i am travelling with my family to taipei and one of the trips will be jiufen. we intend to stay 2 nights in taipei and proceed to jiufen. however, winsor is almost fully booked and they do not have room with seaview on the dates we are staying. any other nice mingsu that do not required a lot of climbing ?

There are still some other minsu in Jiufen which I think they look great too. There is this one located on the Old Street, Chiu Chunt Dint B&B. And this is another one, Pa Fan Keng B&B. For the latter, you may want to choose the one at “Old Street”.

Hmm… Jiufen is on a hillside, there are definitely slopes and stairs. I can’t guarantee you that there won’t be a lot of climbing, but they’re not too challenging and dangerous. If at all you’re tired of all the walking and climbing, there are lots of cafes/restaurants where you can stop by and rest.

thanks so much for the prompt reply, Ashley…. u r so great in answering all my Q… and u r right too about my daily planning…

i will be spending 2 nights at Jiufen, the next morning will travel to Kaohsiung and stay a nite there. ( but gosh, i didnt check whether got any train travelling to there or not, looks like have to do research about this again ;-(

i thought going to taichung so that i can go to Nantou ( im so eager on trying the railway bento at Jiji)…then from there only i go to Sun Moon Lake ( izzit more nearer if i go from here or from Jiufen?)

22/2 – jiu fen

23/3 – after check out from jiufen , then take train to kaohsiung

24/3 – kaohsiung

25/3 – from kaohsiung to taichung ( left early morning and maybe noon can reach taichung)

26/3 – taichung to taipei ( after check out , maybe can still linger a while here coz i assume from taichung to taipei will take about 1-2 hrs?)

27/3 – taipei ( my flight is at 5pm ( so i still hv one whole morning to do the last minute shopping) actually i have covered taipei on my first 2 days at taipei…so i guess nothing much to do already..hehe ( if not i will be going back home penniless)

Hello Ivy, I am so sorry for the late reply. Very busy with work and I am so tired everyday after work, weekend was occupied with the house stuff too. Sorry about that.

Yes, it is nearer to go Sun Moon Lake from Taichung. Your plan of travel to Kaohsiung from Jiufen is good. Don’t change that. But please find out if there’s any train travel from Jiufen to Kaohsiung. That is the only thing I’m concerned, other than that, your itinerary looks great. :)

Do try out all the food that you can find in Taiwan, you can’t get them else where. Hahahaha. Have a great trip!

its me again. do you know what is the distance and how long does it takes from windsor b&b to the bus station? because we need to catch a bus as fast as we could to board the train from ruifang station back to taipei to hop on the hihg speed rail.

Hello Kelvin, nice to “see you” here again. :) I’m so sorry for the late reply. Been caught up with work and the house.

The distance from Windsor B&B to bus station, I presumed you’re referring to the bus station near the entrance to Jiufen Old Street, the locals called it “Jiu Dao Kou”, translated to Old Street Main. It is just beside this convenient store, I think it’s 7-11. I believe it would take some time to travel from Jiufen to Ruifang, since it was the B&B owner that sent us back to Taipei, I didn’t get to time the distance. Also, on the first day we arrived, Mr. Tsu picked us up from Ruifang station, I think it took about half an hour.

Don’t worry Kelvin, I’m sure you have emailed Windsor for the booking. You can actually drop them an email on this information too, what bus to take, how long it takes to Ruifang and what is the interval between the buses. I’m sure they’re willing to help their customers. :)

Thanks for all the useful info. I decided to stay a night in Jiufen on my Taiwan trip. Do you think is possible to cover Yehliu, Jinguashi and Jiufen in a day and half? Planning to stay in Jiufen on our 1st day, and visit Yehliu and Jinguashi for the 2nd day of our trip.

Hi Yully, thanks for dropping by. Glad that I could be of any help. :)

Yes, I believe you have enough time for Yehliu, Jinguashi and Jiufen Old Street. On your first day, you may want to explore the Jiufen Old Street first. If you have time in the afternoon, perhaps around 2pm or 3pm, you may head to either Yehliu or Jinguashi. Then on your second day, then you can cover either Yehliu/Jinguashi (depends on which one you visit first on the first day). Alternatively, you can do it your way, Jiufen Old Street for the first day, then Yehliu and Jinguashi on the 2nd day. :)

Hi Dan, thank you for your compliment, but I am in no way to become a taiwan tour planner. Haha. I have only been to the North of Taiwan, and yet not all the places in the north. Don’t think I can plan well for other places. I am only sharing what I have been through. :) Anyway, thanks again for thinking so highly of me.

Back to your questions, you’re saying you’ll be booking a taxi for the whole day, meaning the taxi will chauffeur you to all the places?

Day 1 – I don’t think you can cover YMS + Danshui and Yehliu + Jiufen in the same day. You can go to YMS in the early morning, then go to Danshui in the afternoon. But to go from Taipei city to Jiufen (Yehliu is located near Jiufen), it’s going to take 1 and a half hours of train ride. I’m not sure of how long it takes if someone were to drive up there. By the time you reach Jiufen, it could be late afternoon or evening, Yehliu is definitely out of the question.

Day 2 – From what I heard/read, Shifen is pretty near to Jiufen, so yes, you can cover Shifen，Pingxi and Wulai. But not sure if you’ll have enough time for all the places.

If you’re hiring a taxi, what you need to consider is, you may get stuck in traffic if it’s during peak season/hours. Of course it is more convenient than taking trains but the time spent on the road is something you may want to research more about.

About Sanxia and Yingge, so sorry that I know nothing much about that 2 places. But if you’re interested, of course you can visit. :) Just that I’m not able to help you much on that. Sorry.

Hi Christina, thanks for dropping by.
You can certainly do a lot during your 3 days stay in Jiu Fen. Yehliu Ecological park is one, you can also visit Jinguashi. Jiu Fen Old Street is more for shopping and food. If you are up to a bit of travelling, you can even take the train and go to Shifen and Jing Tong. Those are really nice places to go. There is also a Keelung Night Market.

I’m planning to visit hualien after staying at jiufen for two nights. Do you think it is possible to make it a day trip to hualien if I were to leave jiufen in the morning? Thanks so much for your help! (:

About the day trip to Hualien, first of all you have to check the train schedule, ie. what time the train leave from Jiufen and what is the last train from Hualien to Taipei (assuming you’re going back Taipei later). Here’s for you to check the time schedule –> http://twtraffic.tra.gov.tw/twrail/English/e_index.aspx

Looks like the earliest from Ruifang station is 7.11am, and the last train from Hualian to Taipei is 10.05pm.

Depending on what and where you plan to do/go in Hualian, day trip can be possible. :)

I’m planning to go Taiwan in early May (1st time visiting Taiwan), 2 adults & my 6 yrs old boy. Looking at 5 to 6 nights. Initial plan was to go Hualian as I heard there’s a theme park there so wanted to bring my boy there after that Xin Beitou to try the Hotspring resort (You tried that before?) then back to Taipei. But after reading your recommendation on Jiufen, really thinking of twitching my plan. So now I’m thinking maybe Hualian,JiuFen,(Xin BeiTou-optional) & Taipei. How do you suggest I go about it? Also you mentioned packed light for JiuFen so if I travel from Hualian to JiuFen, I guess i need to carry my full luggage with me? Sorry for so many questions as never been there before so wanted to have an idea.

Lots of people have told me they changed their plan after they read my post about Jiu Fen. I’m not exactly sure I am actually helping people now. Hahahaha.

Jiufen is really a nice place. However, seeing that you have your son with you, I’m not too sure if he will like it there. Jiufen is more of sigh-seeing and shopping and eating. For a 6-year-old boy, he may find it boring perhaps after half a day. Well, that depends on how you can educate him, perhaps you can bring him to Yehliu Ecological Park to appreciate the mother nature, then bring him back to Jiufen Old Street for some food and shopping. :)

Ok, let’s look at your itinerary. You’re going to Hualian the moment you arrive Taipei? If that’s the case, I suppose you’ll spend the first 2 days in Hualian.

Day 1: Reach Taipei (perhaps early afternoon?). Travel to Hualian and stay a night there.
Day 2: Explore Hualian. Stay another night in Hualian.
Day 3: Hualian – Jiufen. Stay a night in Jiufen. If you leave Hualian in the afternoon, perhaps you can do some shopping in Jiufen Old Street, or take a bus go to Jinguashi and then Keelung Night Market, not far from Jiufen.
Day 4: Visit Yehliu Ecological Park. Then travel back to Taipei. Check in hotel in Taipei, probably hang around in Taipei area.
Day 5: Xin Beitou hot spring (I’ve only been to the Hot Spring Museum, didn’t get a chance to dip in the hot spring). Go early and you will manage to experience the hot spring. :) After the hot spring, you may want to go explore the Taipei city. :)
Day 6: Up to you to plan your activities in Taipei. :)

If you’re up for it, I’d suggest you to stay 7 days 6 nights. That way, you can go Taruko Gorge in Hualian (it’s beautiful, read my previous comments here) and also the theme park that you want to go. :)

About your luggage, you can actually keep your large luggage in Ruifang train station, that is the station you will need to get off for Jiufen. As for the charges, I’m afraid you will have to ask the staff in the station. That way, you don’t have to lug all your luggages all the way up to Jiufen. Jiufen is still very much walkable, it’s just with the luggages you may feel tired going up the staircase and steep paths. :)

Yes, train ticket from Taipei to Hualian will have to book in advance. They allow booking up to 1 month (30 days) in advance, my sister booked hers exactly 1 month in advance through this website –> http://www.railway.gov.tw/tw/CP.aspx?sn=14373

Hi, i am doing research for my taiwan trip for august with my girlfriend, came across your post and am amazed by jiufen. It’s my first time going taiwan and planning it for my girlfriend’s birthday too.

i’ll be going for 6-7days, after reading your post i’ve got so many places i wanna go! like jiufen,ximending, shilin, taipei 101 and all. but i’m quite stuck at the planning of the timing. Should i go jiufen on the day i arrive taipei? stay there for 3D2N then leave to ximending and stay there for the rest of my trip? as i’m not really familiar places like where is nearer to where so that i can plan out a smooth journey. Really hope someone can help me with more info or suggestions(:

Well, you may go to Jiufen on the day of your arrival in Taipei, but you will have to bring all your luggage with you. I’m sure you have read that Jiufen is on a hill-side with lots of stairs and slopes, it may not be difficult, but challenging if you have heavy luggage with you. Alternatively, you can keep your luggage in Ruifang train station and only bring sufficient clothing to Jiufen. They do provide locker service in the train station but I’m not sure how much they charge. If you stay in Taipei and go Jiufen maybe on your 2nd or 3rd day, you can leave your luggage in the hotel that you stay, just bring a backpack with you to Jiufen will do. The hotel usually provides such service, as long as you are staying with them.

Here’s my suggested itinerary for you:
Day 1: Reach Taipei (perhaps early afternoon?). Travel to Jiufen by train to Ruifang train station. May explore Jiufen Old Street and go to Keelung Night Market on the first day.
Day 2: Explore Jiufen. Do visit Yehliu Ecological Park and Gold Ecological Park. I suggest you go to the Gold Ecological Park in the early morning and head to Yehliu Ecological Park in the afternoon around 1pm. At night you may want to do some shopping in Jiufen Old Street. :)
Day 3: Back to Taipei. If you would like to stay in Ximending, then you can walk around in Ximending for some food and shopping. If you won’t be staying in Ximending, you can still go there and walk around. Do go to Taipei 101 around 5pm/6pm, so that you get to see the Taipei city during day and night. :)
Day 4: Personally, I really like the Xiao You Keng in Yang Ming Shan. If you’re keen, you can go to Yang Ming Shan in the morning. Then go to Xin Bei Tou near noon time. If you don’t want to take the bus all the way up to Yang Ming Shan just for one place of interest, it’s all right, go to Xin Bei Tou in the early morning. Initially we planned to go to this place for hotspring, but time didn’t permit us to do so. You can get some hot spring package HERE. After Xin Bei Tou, if you have time, you may go to Dan Shui Fishermen Wharf. There’s a bridge there, quite romantic and pretty during evening. :) Dan Shui Old Street is a good place for food too.
Day 5: Not sure if you’ll be keen to travel a bit, to go to Sun Moon Lake at Nan Tou. Again, it would be a lovely place to go for couple like you, with the lake and all that, it would be the best birthday gift for your girlfriend. :P If you can read chinese, you may refer to this website –> Sun Moon Lake Day Trip Or here –> Sun Moon Lake Official Site. You may want to stay a night there if you don’t want to rush, or make it a day trip if you are okay with travelling. Don’t worry if you do not feel like travelling so far for Sun Moon Lake, there are still lots to do in Taipei city. :) Perhaps your girlfriend would like to do some shopping. There’s a wholesale shopping place called Wu Fen Pu, I’ve blogged about it too. Don’t go Wu Fen Pu on Monday, it’s reserved for wholesaler, they may not have time to entertain customers like us who don’t buy in bulk. They open around 11am/12pm to around midnight.
Day 6: If you stay a night in Sun Moon Lake, you can then switch the Wu Fen Pu here. Alternatively, you may visit Taiwan Story Land. It’s a place for photos! It’s like walking down the memory lane of Taipei. I didn’t manage to go. However, if you’re someone who would get bored with just LOOKING at things, you may want to skip this. :) You MUST go Shilin Night Market! Yes, it’s a must! Lots of fantastic food there and your girlfriend would love to do some shopping there too. :) I went Shilin Night Market twice, can you believe! Hahaha. You may refer to my blog on Shilin Night Market too.
Day 7: Usually you will not have much time on the day of departing. Probably enough time to have last breakfast in Taipei. Do go to the airport earlier, there’s still lots of shopping you can do in the airport. :P

Hope the above helps. Do let me know if you have any other questions. :)

This is a really informative thread you have! I am interested in going to the Gold Ecological Park (that’s how I found your blog :)) and am wondering if 2.5 hours if enough for that area? And I saw that the yinyang sea is impossible to walk to… how should I plan for this part of my trip?

The Gold Ecological Park is really an informative place, one can learn a lot in there. If you are someone who like this kind of information and if you were to follow the guide all the way, 2.5 hours is definitely not enough. However, if you go around the place on your own, perhaps it would take about 2 hours still. There’s a “teapot” mountain in there, if you’re feeling adventure you can take a hike the staircase. There’s also a Gold Temple on the other side, which my husband went up, pretty amazing view up there. :) I think we spent more or less 3 hours there. So, you better get yourself prepared for 3 hours. Do check if they still have this “gold washing” activity. You’ll get to “wash” your gold from a pile of dirt and bottle it and bring the gold dust back home. :) We missed it, make sure you check it out and do go for it if it’s still available. :)

You will have to get a cab to go to Ying Yang Hai. I’m not sure of the exact location, but I’m sure the locals will know and the cab will be able to get you there.

I wana ask you something, this time I am bring my parents go Taiwan.
It is not my first time going there, its my 2nd time, however my first time was with tour group so everything was well planned and prepared. This time it is Free and Easy. So all the research is on me.

I have all these places in mind, some are already “group” together nicely due to their location near one another. Base on your experience, do you think it is ok ? Is it tooo packed ? My parents are in their 60s+.

If not can you help me plan it out ?

I am going there for 8 days 7 nights.
All these research of mine are base on helpful people and their blogs, I have also read through all your Taiwan posts =)

I am now puzzled about my Day 1, should I go to Jiu Fen, Taroko Gorge with our heavy luggages or should I check in to Taipei’s hotel for the first night, then I check out and leave my luggages with them before I checked in again on the last 3 days in Taiwan which I intend to do shopping.

I understand that Jiufen has those stairs, hard to travel around with huge luggages.
Does Rainbow hotel allow guest to leave the luggages for like 3 days or so ?
hmmmm

Anyway my quick planned itinerary is as follow below: (not perfect yet)
I wana fit at least Taroko Gorge in, and I think my Day 6 is somewhat wrongly planned.
Do you mind if I add you in MSN or something, respond may be faster that way =p

From your itinerary above, I feel that it would be very rushing especially you have your parents with you. If they’re keen with doing a lot of walking, that would be fine. What I’m worried is they will feel very tired at the end of the day and at the end of the trip, they may be exhausted.

There are also some places in your itinerary that I feel that they should be in the same day but you have split them to 2 different days. Here’s my reshuffled itinerary for you to refer. You don’t have to follow it, just take it as a reference. :)

Day 2: (Are you staying in Jiufen for a night? By the time you reach Jiufen, it will probably be around 12pm or 1pm, you may not have enough time to go Shifen and Yehliu. Unless you rush for it and time your visit accurately. Pingxi is very near to Shifen, no point you split them to 2 different days, you’ll be travelling to Jiufen up and down then.)
Morning – Jiu Fen/Shifen
Afternoon – Ye Liu Queen’s head
Night – PingXi railway & lantern

Day 3: (Are you sure you want to visit the zoo right after you come back from Jiufen? Presuming you’ll be spending a night on Jiufen. Please note that it will usually be noon time if you take train from Jiufen to Taipei.)
Morning, Afternoon – Taipei Zoo / MaoKong Gondola Cable car
Night – Shilin Night Market

Day 8:
Morning – Xi Men Ding. Usually you won’t have much time for the day you’re departing. It is better to just roam around where you stay and go to the airport earlier. There’s still lots of things to see/buy in the airport. :)
Afternoon – Hello Kitty shop @ airport (Good choice! :) )

I’m a little confused when you mentioned if you should “go to Jiu Fen, Taroko Gorge with our heavy luggages”. Jiufen and Taroko Gorge is 2 different place totally. Jiufen is in the north of Taipei, Taroko Gorge is in Hualian, Taichung, near to the centre of Taiwan. If you want to go Taroko Gorge, you’ll have to take train to Hualian train station. The ticket to Hualian you’ll have to book online. Please refer to my previous comments here. Also, it is best to get a tour guide to go to Taroko Gorge.

It is not advisable to carry your heavy luggages to Jiufen, again, especially with your parents. There are a lot of slopes and stairs in Jiufen. Yes, Rainbow Hotel allows you to keep your luggage in their hotel, IF you’ll go back to stay with them again. However, please check with them again when you call them for room reservation.

Again, I would like to stress that, Jiufen, Yehliu’s Queen’s head, Keelung night market, they’re all nearby. You shouldn’t split them into separate days apart. You can’t be travelling from Jiufen to Hualian to Taipei and then back to Jiufen again, it is very time consuming. Please always check the location of the places of interests carefully.

You just need to put Jiufen, Yehliu’s Queen’s head and Keelung night market into one day, and then 2nd day travel to Yilan. Again, please make sure you book your train ticket to Hualian first.

Hi Ashley, I really enjoyed reading your blog! It’s very informative and helpful, especially for first-time visitors to Taiwan, and who are not so good with Chinese (like myself!). I intend to goto Taiwan at end Oct to early Nov (9D8N) this year. May I ask for your advice on my draft itinery please?

From your planned itinerary, it looks pretty rushing to me. Perhaps I prefer travelling slowly in my own pace. There’s nothing wrong with your itinerary, but seeing that you’ll be bringing your mother together, it may be tiring for her. I’m sure she will enjoy the trip, but I’m worried she will feel tired at the end of it.

On your day 3, please note that it is pretty impossible to go Yehliu, Pingxi, Jingtong, Shifen, Jinguashi in a day’s time. You’ll need to take a train from Jiufen to Pingxi, Jington and Shifen. Although they’re near, it would be very rushing to travel to all 3 of them in one day. Yehliu is an ecological park, Jinguashi is the gold mining museum (which is the same as the one you mentioned in Day 2), this 2 places take lots of time to wander around. I suggest for Day 3, you go Yehliu in the early morning (please check what is the earliest time they open), then only take your time travel to Pingxi, Jington and Shifen. If at all you’re tired later, you can just skip one of them. As for Miaokou and Keelung night market, I’m not sure if they’re 2 different night market or they’re actually one?

The rest of your itinerary looks fine though. :)

The rules of thumb is, just skip one of the places if at all you’re feeling tired or the time does not allow later. After all, your planned itinerary is not carved on stone. :)

Thank you for your patience. :D Hope you have a great trip with your mom.

Have been reading your blog and we are planning to go Taiwan (lst trip) end Oct 2012. As our flight arrived at 6am we are not sure should we head straight to Jiufen or Beitou first with our luggage before heading to Taipei. Your advise please so that I can book the hotel respectively. Btw is it possible to give me the contact email to Windsor so as to book the rooms in advance. Not sure they have triple room available in this botel. Thank you, Serena

Since you’ll arrive Taipei in the early morning, I’ll suggest you head straight to Jiufen with your luggage. Your luggage may still be light since it’ll be your first day arriving Taipei. You may keep your luggage in the Ruifang Train Station, or, let the B&B owner knows and see they can pick you up from the train station with your luggage. Be sure to check on the train schedule to Ruifang Train station, not sure what is the time for the earliest train to Ruifang.

Hello Serena, you are most welcome. :) Glad that I could be of any help.

Do you take beef? If you do, make sure you try out the beef noodles in Jiufen Old Street which I mentioned in my blog post above. It is really delicious. Oh, don’t forget to visit Yehliu Ecological Park for the “Queen’s head” rock. It’s not going to be there forever, better see the real thing before it’s gone. :)

As for Beitou, I bet you’d be going for the hotspring since you’ve booked the resort. :) That’s a wise choice.

Day 1 & 2 (22 & 23 Sep) We arrive at 05.40 am in Taoyuan
Kenting – Is 1 night sufficient? – Do you know of any minsu to recommend
(Am not familiar with Kenting.)

Day 3 & 4 (24 & 25 Sep)
Hualien – need to stay 2 nights to cover as many attractions as possible.
any minsu to recommend for 2 nights
(Does that mean on the night of 23 Sept you will travel to Hualien? For the minsu, please refer to my earlier comments above.)

Day 5 & 6 (26 & 27 Sep)
Jiufen – I will try the Windsor that you recommended
Shifen
Danshuei Lao Jie
Wu Fen Pu & Raohe Night Market
Yehliu Geopark
Shilin Night Market
(Danshui, Wufenpu, Raohe and Shilin, they’re all at different places, they’re not in Jiufen. Don’t think you can stay a night in Jiufen and travel to all those night markets in Taipei city the next day in one day. You may check my other blog posts. And please note that you will be carrying all your luggage with you to Jiufen. Please read my blog post or comments from others above again for pre-cautions.)

Day 7 & 8 (28 & 29 Sep) – Our flight leaves at 18.10 hrs from Taoyuan
Ximenting – Stay in hotel in Ximenting
Beitou Hot Spring – any minsu there where we can stay for one night?
Yang Min Shan
(It is best to go Yang Ming Shan in early morning and then proceed to Beitou later in the afternoon. If you’re staying in Ximending, why do you still want to spend a night in Beitou? You can’t be staying at 2 different places in one night right?)

Michelle, perhaps you will want to re-work at the dates, so that it’s easier for me to understand and help you better.

Hello Ashley, this is my Mrs & my first time visit to Taiwan. Initially we intend to visit & stay at Jiufen, Hualien & around Taroko Gorge but worry rail travel would take up too much time. So, we opt for a relax travel as below. Or you may have a better itinerary for us.

Day 1 (03-Nov-12) TAIPEI
Arrive at Taipei at around 3pm. Any Taipei minsu you care to recommend. Visit Jimboli Old Street, Shilin Night Market.

Day 2 (04-Nov-12) TAIPEI
Simending, Keelung Harbour, Yeilu & Miaokou Night Market. Or any interesting place you may recommend.

Day 3 (05-Nov-12) JIUFEN
Take an early morning train to Ruifang Station. Intend to travel to Jinguashi before proceeding to Jiufen. Intend to stay at Windsor B&B. Shop & eat around Jiufen Old Street.

Day 4 (06-Nov-12) JIUFEN
Intend to visit Jington, Pingxi & Shifen by rail in the morning. Return to Jiunfen in the evening.

Day 5 (07-Nov-12) Back to TAIPEI
Do you think we have time to travel around Hsinchu County & Miaoli County? Or you have any good suggestion. See we would only be leaving the following day.

Day 2 (04-Nov-12) TAIPEI
Please note that Keelung, Yehliu and Miaoku are in Keelung, which is near Jiufen, not in the Taipei city centre and definitely not near Ximending.

Day 3 (05-Nov-12) JIUFEN
Your 3rd day itinerary looks fine to me. :)

Day 4 (06-Nov-12) JIUFEN
This looks fine to me too, just make sure you check what is the last train from Ruifang to Taipei.

Day 5 (07-Nov-12) Back to TAIPEI
I think you will be able to go to Xinzhu or Miaoli. Just check the transport to go there, what you’re going to do there and how much time you intend to spend there and what time to go back to Taipei.

Thank you Ashley. When we plan to travel to Taiwan, we found your blog. It is so informative & clear. We had also booked Windsor B&B in Jiufen for 2 days. Now, we may even visit Xinzhu or Miaoli, as you suggested. You are good, if any interesting places cross your mind, you can still suggest them to us. Thanking you once again, have many many happy days ahead, okay :D

Hi, my friends and I are planning to stay at Windsor B&B this October and we would like to ask you which specific room do you recommend we book? I have seen mixed reviews about Windsor so I guess you would be a better judge. Thanks.

my friends and i are planning a trip to taiwan in 1st week of Dec. We are thinking of heading direct to jiufen first but not sure about the transport we can take from taoyuan airport. We will reach the airport around 5+ in the morning.

Or, you can take bus straight from the airport to Taipei Main Station (train station) and then from there take train to Ruifang Station. About where to take the train from the airport, I’m afraid you’ll have to ask the information counter in the airport to direct you better. They’re very friendly.

Hi Maye, you’re most welcome, I didn’t help you much. :) Long-Men is not bad at all, it is equally unique. :)

I supposed the Jiufen you mean is the Jiufen Old Street. You can go to the waterfalls or the gold mine early in the morning and go back to the Old Street in the afternoon. That way, you can see the Old Street during day and night time. :) Do take note that the shops in the Old Street close pretty early, around 9pm.

Long-men minsu is very clean and the owners are hospitable. It was unfortunate for us that during our trip to Jiufen it was raining pretty hard. However we were able to go to Shifen and Pingxi during the morning and roam around Jiufen Old Street in the afternoon til early evening.

I am planning a trip at the end of 2012, but unfortunately can only spend one night in Jiufen. they have a room for me which is not facing the sea, but can see a little of Keelung mountain. No choice since it is a last minute plan. my friend’s concern is if it is facing a cemetery.

I am sorry to have to ask such a question, but do not want my friend to be upset upon reaching the hotel.

Regarding your question, I am not too sure if it is facing a cemetery. However, during our 3 days in Jiufen, we did not come across any cemetery. I could be wrong. You can check with the B&B owner to confirm that.

Thank you very much for your time!! I want to comment that you are very kind and patient to all enquirers. We are really lucky!!!
Noted on your reply and thank you!

I am wondering if you could help me out with some questions on my planning?

Due to available time and last minute decision, I am going to Taipei, arriving at 6+am on Saturday, 29 Dec and leaving for home on Wednesday, 02 Jan 2013, flight at about 3:45pm from Taoyuan airport.

My first few nights are in Danshui (no rooms in Taipei) and last night at Shifen. Decided on shifen after reading your blog and was lucky as someone gave up their room. Wish it was the seaview though!! I will have to plan in advance another trip :) !

Day 1, Saturday 29dec2012
Arrive Taipei, Danshui, shilin, is there a flower festival in Dec in Shilin?
Sunset at Danshui?
Shilin?

You are most welcome. I’m just trying my best to help the travellers. I understand planning a trip can become very tricky if the information is not sufficient.

Here’s my reply:

Day 1, Saturday 29dec2012
Arrive Taipei, Danshui, shilin, is there a flower festival in Dec in Shilin? – I’m not very sure about the flower festival.
Sunset at Danshui? – Yes, you can see sunset in Danshui. :)
Shilin? – Shilin at night, it is a night market.

Day 2, Sunday 30dec2912
Taipei 101, wufenpu,
Ximending – only at night? – Ximending is merrier at night, all the shops are open at night. Not so much of activities during day time.

Day 3, Monday 31 dec 2013
Day , no plans, not sure about the crowds.
Where can I watch fireworks but still able to back safely to Danshui after midnight?
By taxi? – I believe you can watch fireworks somewhere near Taipei 101. Why not visit Taipei 101 late evening? In the morning perhaps you can go Yangmingshan. As for transportation after midnight, you can go to the train/MRT station and ask the counter what time the MRT close. Alternatively, yes, taxi.

Day 4, Tuesday 01 jan 2013
What would be a good time to leave for ruifang from Danshui? – Hmm… I don’t quite understand your question here. To take the train, you will have to go to the Taipei Main Station and take the train to Ruifang. It will take approximately 1.5 hours. You will need to purchase your train ticket few days earlier seeing that it is a public holiday.
I hope to visit both jiufen and shifen for sky lantern at night. – Will you be staying in Jiufen or Shifen? From what I heard, the sky lantern is most famous in Pingxi.

Day 5, Wednesday 02 Jan 2013
What time should I leave to be at the airport by 1:30pm? – It is best to leave by 11.30am.

I can’t thank you enough for taking the time to help look at my schedule and answer my questions. I am sure you are very busy yourself! It is very helpful for a first timer ( first time to Taiwan, and first time trying to plan a trip ). I do appreciate very much your generosity!

With your tips and advice, I will look at replanning my schedule. I will let you know how it turned out when I return from Taipei :) !!

Hi Ashley! I am in the midst of planning my virgin trip to Taiwan Yes, sounded sua ku and though clueless, I am in awe of the Windsor min su that you went.

Can I ask if they are strict with the number of ppl in each rm? It stated on the on the site 4 per room and TW700 for extra bed. However I have 2 kids in tow and 4 adults. Any idea if they allow all 6 of us to squeeze in a 2 bedroom apt?

Any suggestion for sightseeing in Jiufen or do you think I shld skip Jiufen since I have only 6 nights in Taiwan?

I read that you highly recommended Hualien. Thanks in adv and happy CNY!

Seeing that you have 2 kids and they may not need a bed to themselves, you can try to ask the B&B owner if it is ok for you to take the 2 bedroom apt. I can’t say for sure, but I think they’re willing to accommodate.

As for sightseeing in Jiufen, Gold Ecological Park and Yehliu Geopark are must-visit places.

Between Jiufen and Hualien, it very much depends on what kind of sightseeing you prefer. Hualien has Taroko Gorge and He Huan mountain, they’re beautiful. Jiufen’s seaview is amazing too. I suggest you Google around and see out of this 2 places, which one you like the most. You may spend 2 days 1 night in Jiufen which is enough to cover Gold Ecological Park and Yehliu Geopark. However, 2 days 1 night in Hualien may be a bit rush because of the journey.

So sorry for the late reply. Hope it’s not too late.
I did not go to Jiufen from the airport. I’m not sure if there’s a train that goes directly to Ruifang. Perhaps when you touch down you can go to the information counter and ask the customer service officer there. They will more than happy to help.

As for the hotel in Taipei city, you may check out the previous comments above on the one that my sisters stayed.

Regarding your question on day 5, if you’re not hiring a cab, you’ll have to make sure you don’t miss the train and keep track of your time. Also, that depends on how many persons you’re travelling with. I’ve heard people going to both Pingxi and Shifen for the sky lantern. Perhaps you may want to check the season during the time you’re travelling. So that you know which place is more happening.

23-24 Dec day 2 and 3 – Jiufen -> Hualien->Taroko George -> HeHuanShan ->Cingjing
What to do in Hualien
1) Taroko National Park Hualien. The “must-see” places in Taroko National Park:
Eternal Spring Shrine 長春祠
Swallow’s Grottos 燕子口
Tunnel of Nine Turns 九曲洞
Tienhsiang 天祥
Baiyang Trail (require some 2 hrs to do this trail)
Cingshuei Cliff 清水断崖 is outside Taroko Gorge, along Suao-Hualien coastal highway. Between Heren and Chongde is the most spectacular. Heren is about 16 km from Taroko. It’s about 25 mins drive from Taroko to Heren.

From your itinerary, I am afraid that you’ll be rushing from one place to another.

Day 1 – You may want to check in Windsor first then only proceed to Shifen.
Day 2 – Please note that Gold Ecological Park is the same as Jinguashi. It’s just that Jinguashi is the chinese name. If you want to go Shifen on day 1, I don’t think you’ll have time for Jinguashi.
Day 3 – I’m a bit confused with your date, is this day 2 or day 3? How many days you’ll be staying in Jiufen and how many days in Hualian?
Day 4 – Again, I think the number of days is a bit confusing here.
Day 5 – Please check the train schedule first before you do your itinerary so that you can plan your time well.
Day 6 – The red house theater is in Ximending, you may want to rearrange your sequence.
Day 7 – Looks fine.
Day 8 – Why are you going to Fisherman’s wharf continuously on both day 7 & 8? They’re the same place. To go Yang Ming Shan, it is better to go in the morning.

As for the transport, I suggest you to check out the train schedule first before you plan. Also, you may want to Google and search around how you are going to commute when you reach your destination. As for Hualian, you can check out the previous comments here on the tour/transport. Sorry that I can’t help much on Tainan and Kaohsiung.

I must say you plan very well. Always remember, your plan is not carved in stone. You can make changes during your trip if you find that you’re rushing from places to places. Just make changes there and then and enjoy. :)

Regarding what time you should leave for airport, I would say do leave 2 hours before your flight. It’s better to be early than late. :)

My sisters went in early November and they told me it wasn’t very cold. However, you do need jackets. I’ll suggest you to bring clothes that you can layer on instead of thickness. Because if the weather changes, you can either put more on or take some off.

I stayed in the Rainbow Hotel in Taipei, not B&B. The B&B is in Jiufen, the name is already mentioned in the blog post itself, with the website provided.
As for the transportation to Jiufen, please refer to my blog post above for details. Thanks.

April 28 – Monday
Checked out Park Hotel taipei – luggage keep at hotel
Off to jiufen – stay over at Windsor B&B
I’ve emailed the B&B – only Han Guan 3 & 4 is available…
Han Guan 3 – is it located near the jiufen old street?
Are there lots of steps to climb?
As I will be going w my elderly mum, I’m abit worried but the B&B seems so nice…
Is 1 day enough for jiufen?

Park hotel seems to be located very near to the MRT station. Seeing that you’re travelling with your mom, that would be a better location. Amba is located in Ximending, require you to walk at least 5 minutes to the MRT station.

Your itinerary looks fine to me. :) Not too rushing. About the B&B in Jiufen, I’m not very sure where exactly is Han Guan 3. You may want to ask the B&B owner about that. Jiufen has a lot of stairs/steps/slopes, but there are also a lot of places to rest/sit. If your mom gets tired from walking, you can always pick a restaurant/cafe for a stop and enjoy the nice scenery. :)

Are you going to Jiufen for 2 days 1 night? If yes, that should be enough.

Oh, just a friendly reminder, Wufenpu requires a lot of walking, I see that you have put Wufenpu and Raohe market in one day. Since your mom can’t walk much, you might want to split Wufenpu and Raohe. How about putting Raohe night market to April 29? I supposed you’ll be coming back from Jiufen late afternoon on that day, so night time you can go to Raohe.

Hi Ashley,
Thank you so much for your advices :)
We have decided not to stay in jiufen as the Windsor B&B rooms available for that period is located pretty far. We will just do a 1 day trip to jiufen.
Good suggestion to split wufenpu & raohe night market .
Thank you :)

Hi Ashley, i am going to Jiufen & Shifen on my first day and intending to stay one night, i have checked that by the time i reached Jiufen will be around 9am. As i am carrying a luggage thus i need to put my luggage at Jiufen first,(else i actually want to head straight to shifen to walk but i cant bring my luggage along haix…) then head down to Shifen immediately. Please advise whether the below route is possible or need some changes.

1) Ruifang – Jiufen put luggage only (there is no other place to leave luggage a day issit?)
2) Jiufen – Ruifang station again – Shifen
3) Shifen Waterfall – Pingxi
4) Pingxi – Ruifang Station – then again back to Jiufen for minsu stay and laojie

I believe it is best to leave your luggage in the B&B that you’re staying before travelling to Shifen. Like you said, you definitely don’t want to drag your luggage with you. It will be easier and more convenient to travel light. Or, you can leave your luggage at Ruifang Station. They do have locker for rent. I did not rent it, but you may check with the information counter in Ruifang for that.

I have not been to Shifen and Pingxi. Sorry that I can’t provide more information. But from the look of it, it should be fine.

First of all, thanks for dropping by, Oswald. I am so sorry for not replying! I have recently given birth to my baby and I was too occupied with her and stuff that I did not have time to check my blog. So sorry about that! I hope you had great fun in Taiwan. Again, sorry that I couldn’t offer help in time.

Oh dear, so sorry for not replying, Jeff. I have recently given birth to my baby and I was too occupied with her and stuff that I did not have time to check my blog. Hope you enjoyed your stay in Taiwan. And thanks for visiting my blog.

Hi Ashyley! My friends and I are planning a taiwan trip! I really want to make a very good experienced trip. One of them suggested to hire a bus/van to get us around for the days out of Taipei, e.g taizhong, cingjing hua yuan(sheep farms), ri yue tuan, chia yi, gao shiong.
Taipei and Jiufen would be our last stop before heading back to airport. How many days to you think we need to explore taipei and jiufen. And when should we travel
taipei – jiufen and jiufen – shifen and shifen -jiufen and jiufun – taiwan. In the morning or night? How long is recommended to stay at each place. If u do not mind, is it possible to help draft me a plan? Thank you very much!

Hi Sean, thanks for dropping by. Not sure if my reply would be too late.
Yes, if you are travel with a group of friends, I would say it is better to hire a bus/van, and since you’re travelling to the south as well. However, it is also fun to travel in public transport with your friends. You know, to experience the local life. It all depends on your budget and time.

Taipei is not just the city centre, Taipei is actually the whole north part of Taiwan. But, if you’re only going to Taipei city and Jiufen, I would say 4 to 5 days is good enough. 3 days in Taipei city, 2 or 3 days in Jiufen/Shifen.

Which airport will you be arriving/departing? If it’s Taoyuan, you may want to explore Taipei city first. Then head to Jiufen. From Jiufen to Shifen is not far (by train), it can be a day trip. So I would say you stay in Jiufen, then travel to Shifen by train for a day trip, then back to Jiufen for a night stay. You may also want to spend another day in Jiufen to explore.

Taipei city – 3 days 2 nights
Jiufen/Shifen – Take train from Taipei City to Ruifang (train station to reach Jiufen) in the morning. Check in to a homestay in Jiufen. Then take train to Shifen on the same day. Night time come back to Jiufen. 2nd day exploring Jiufen and stay for 2nd night. 3rd day check out and back to Taipei city.

I am planning an overnight stay in Jiufen. The thing is our big luggage.

We have to check out Taipei Ximending hotel very early and store at their hotel lobby, then head to Ruifang via train from Taipei Main station right? As we are heading elsewhere after return from Jiufen the evening next day, we will not be checking in their hotel again. Do you think they will allow us to store luggage with them? If not, where could we store our hugh luggage? If will toll it to Ruifang, is there possibility that our hugh luggage is too big to go into a locker and then we will have to toll it all the way to Jiufen?

Also when we reach Jiufen that day it’s probably noon. After put our luggage at Jiufen, do you think we still have enough time going back to Ruifang again to do the Pingxi train route (Houtong cat, Shifen waterfall, Pingxi coal tram and sky lantern and last to Jingtong and back to Ruifang, then go back Jiufen BB minsu again? We probably miss the sunset at Jiufen liao.

How about that day reach Jiufen noon, put luggage at Jiufen minsu and go just Jingguashi, then back to Jiufen old street and relax the restof the evening in the minsu? Next day check out early and bring all the luggage to Ruifang stn to store at Ruifang lockers? What if the lockers are full? Then we have to tow the whole day with our big luggage? We have 2 children and 1 70years old mother on tow already…

My problem is the luggage headache. Do you have any idea? At Ruifang stn do they have those baggae store house where a man will look after the luggage for a fee kind (instead of lockers)?

Yes, you can take a train to Ruifang from Taipei Main Station. Regarding to store your luggage with the hotel that you’re not going back for stay, I suggest you check with the hotel. I assumed that you’ve booked the hotel, just drop them an email and ask.

I am not sure of the locker size in Ruifang Station. It was suggested by another blogger when I did my research back then. I will presume that it is large enough to store our luggage, however, perhaps you can check with the tourist information counter in airport. I’m sure the locals will know best.

I don’t think you have enough time to cover up to Jingtong the first day you reach Jiufen, perhaps only a few places. Anyway, your itinerary is not carved in stone, you can always improvise and drop the places if you find that you don’t have enough time on that day.

With your elderly mother on tow, I will suggest you to go easy on your itinerary. Sometimes it’s not that you have to go as many places as you can to call it travelling, enjoy the view and not trying to rush for places are the most important.

Since you have children and an elderly with you, can I suggest that you hire a private car? I’ve seen and heard people travel in a big group by hiring a private car to take them to places. That way, you save some time on travelling on public transport and do not have to worry about your luggages. I believe you can find some contacts on the internet. Sorry that I do not have any to recommend. If I were to travel to Taiwan again in the future, I too will hire a private car.